Another day, another device—that's what Samsung makes us feel like with the exhausting lineup of phones and tablets it's debuted in the last year. Its latest release, however, the Galaxy Note 3, is at least worth paying attention to. It's the third iteration of the company's not-quite-phone, not-quite-tablet Note line, and its internal specifications make it one of the most powerful handsets out on the market right now. It also features 4K video recording and a new suite of applications for the S-Pen aimed at making it easier to jot down notes, leave yourself reminders, and multitask. For Samsung, this is one of its better phones available out on the market right now, but like the rest of its device family, it's just as bloated.
Bigger—but not by much
Michael HomnickIt looks like a mini tablet.
The Note 3 is stylish with its rounded corners and a faux-leather backing, but the fake metal banding and plastic-y chassis still makes it feel like a cheap phone. At 0.33-inches thick, its 5.95 x 3.12-inch chassis is comfortable for composing long emails and tapping out witty Twitter responses, and as with the Note II, there is still a setting for one-handed operation if you need your other hand to hold on to something else.
Michael HomnickThe Galaxy Note 3, followed by last year's Galaxy Note II and the Galaxy S 4.
Samsung kept the device relatively close in size to its predecessor, which hopefully means that it won't dare to get any bigger in future versions. While the Note 3 may not be as massive as the 6.3-inch Galaxy Mega, it's still too awkward to hold up to your ear for phone calls.
Michael HomnickThe Note 3 feels weird to hold up to your ear—but not as weird as the Galaxy Mega.
The Note 3 features a 5.7-inch, 1080p, 386 pixels-per-inch (ppi) Super AMOLED display. That's a huge improvement over its predecessor, which featured a lower resolution display than the original Note. Its screen is certainly bright, but it uses up a significant amount of battery life when it's at its fullest, and you still can't see it too well out in direct sunlight. Still, it's hard not to appreciate that large screen when you're watching Netflix on the train ride to work, or even perusing emails.
Michael Homnick
Michael Homnick
Michael Homnick
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